WoW Lens for iPhone puts more lenses within easy reach

The iPhone comes with a competent camera out of the box, but it could be better. We've seen a set of the third-party lenses called the iPhone Lens Dial that provides all kinds of creativity options for photographers, but it's a little on the large side, and probably not something you would want to have on your phone all the time. The WoW Lens features a similar design, but it's quite a bit smaller and much more likely to remain on the iPhone even when not in use.

The WoW Lens offers a wide angle lens that increases the iPhone camera's view by 30 percent, a macro lens for close-ups, a polarized neutral density lens to improve image quality and create motion blur effects, and a cameo mode for optical vignetting – in addition to the default iPhone lens.

The device is designed is such a way that each of the five options is easy to access with a simple rotation of the carousel. The outside of the wheel is exposed, so only the users thumb is needed to rotate the device and choose the function appropriate for the shot.

The case sporting the lens wheel measures 13.7 mm (0.55-in) deep, which is only adding about 4 mm (0.16-in) of depth to the iPhone overall. The actual lens carousel is just under 4 mm deep.

The creators of the WoW Lens also have a companion application called eZoom. This is claimed to offer up to 6x lossless zooming while taking a photo, and is also available for use with saved images.

Justine Prior is seeking funding for her WoW Lens on Kickstarter. The minimum pledge to receive a WoW Lens for iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 5 is US$50, while the early bird special lasts. After that, the minimum pledge required is $80. The case is also available with a stand for holding the iPhone during photography sessions for $105.

The Kickstarter pitch below provides more information about the WoW Lens.